Current minor leaguers paying attention to lawsuit

It doesn't have to be much. Just enough to get by in the offseason. After all, minor leaguers don't just show up, say, a half-hour before game time and go play. It's a full-time job, almost year-round.

That's what Springfield Cardinals slugger Jonathan Rodriguez emphasized recently after learning about a lawsuit in which former minor leaguers are suing Major League Baseball over low wages.

He's not the only one beginning to watch. So is teammate Greg Miclat, who has a wife, kid and another on the way.

"If you ask any minor leaguer if they would like to get paid $100,000, that's not (realistic). You do have to go through work in order to get to your goal. If they handed it to you easy, why even bother to get to the big leagues?" said Rodriguez, now 24 and a 17th-round draft pick in 2009, out of a Florida juco.

He made clear he isn't suggesting a $30,000-a-year salary. While the average salary in the big leagues last year reached $3.39 million, Double-A players generally make all of $7,500 a year. They are paid only in season.

"But definitely (he hopes to see) an improvement that you can sustain your family and pay your rent through the offseason without having to work at a bar, something outside of your career," Rodriguez added. "It is sad you have to pay for your gym membership. A lot of us depend on our parents, honestly."

Rodriguez may be one of the few active minor leaguers willing to comment on the topic. He acknowledged he would consider joining the lawsuit "if that's what it takes."

Like most others, he arrives to the ballpark around 2 p.m. daily — more than five hours before game time — and doesn't leave until midnight some nights.

"I'm probably not going to benefit from that in two or three years on if I don't make it to the big leagues. This is my fifth year (in pro ball)," Rodriguez said of the lawsuit. "But would it help pave the way for incoming new players who are going to be in the same situation? For sure."

Rodriguez made clear that he's not upset with the Cardinals organization or Major League Baseball. He simply hopes that maybe eyes will open to modern-day realities of minor leaguers.

"To be playing Minor League Baseball, it's a privilege. There are guys who worked hard in high school and who worked hard in college who don't get the opportunity in minor league ball," Rodriguez said. "Like I said, I don't want anything handed to me. I just want improvement."

Miclat received a $225,000 signing bonus as an Orioles fifth-round draft pick in 2008. He said he's used the money to help him get through each season. But others aren't as fortunate, he said.

"I didn't spend my money on anything extravagant. I viewed it as money to help me live," Miclat said. "But the average minor leaguer is coming out of pocket to play baseball.

"We chose it. We're fully aware of what we got into. But it'd sure be nice if these guys fighting the battle come out on the winning side."